The Wedding
by KT Welsh
Summary: The inhabitants of Capeside gather for the wedding they've all been waiting for. But things aren't necessarily how they appear at first...This is the first fan fiction I ever wrote, a few years ago now. It's never been posted anywhere before!


Author's Note & Disclaimer: This was the first fan fiction I ever wrote years ago, but I've never shown it to anyone. I found it when I was cleaning the hard drive of my old computer and decided that since it wasn't bad for a first attempt I'd have some fun and post it here. It's quite cheesy (especially towards the end) the title is dull and since I stopped religiously watching 'Dawson's Creek' ages ago some facts are a little off (I haven't killed Mitch for a start!) but I haven't changed anything. I have made some general comments at the bottom. Call it a nostalgic exercise for me!  
  
Anyway, all the characters were created by Kevin Williamson and I don't claim to own anything. No profit is being made from this story and I promise to leave them all well alone after this!  
  
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The Wedding  
  
The wedding of the Potter girl and the Leery boy, the one Capeside had been waiting for for so long, took place on a beautiful if somewhat cloudy afternoon in July. People gathered outside the church to catch a glimpse of the bride long before the ceremony was due to begin. While they waited they discussed all the times they'd seen the little rowboat make its way across the creek, and talked about the exact moment they'd seen lifelong friendship turn to love. Mitch and Gale smiled proudly at everyone as they made their way up the church steps, while Bessie was already halfway through a packet of tissues as she took her place in the lily-scented church. The room was filled with her sister's favourite flowers and the bride would carry a matching bouquet. Joey had spent her life planning this wedding and it showed. It was a day Capeside would never forget.  
  
* * * * *   
  
Dawson could hardly believe it was happening. He was more nervous than he'd ever been in his life. He paced up and down outside the church, anxious to see the bride, to assure himself that the wedding was really going to take place. At last. He and Joey would be family, united by mutual love and respect. He felt a hand on his arm and turned to see Jen smiling up at him from under the brim of her huge pink hat.  
  
"Relax," she advised. "I just called Pacey, and they're about to leave the B&B. Nothing's going to stop this wedding, so quit worrying."  
  
Dawson smiled, feeling some of his nerves leave him. "What would I do without you to keep me sane?"  
  
The blonde gave him another smile and gently took his arm. "You would never have lasted this long, that's for sure. Now, come inside?"  
  
He shook his head. "I just want to wait until Joey gets here."  
  
"You'll see her soon enough, Dawson. Come on," Jen insisted.   
  
Dawson allowed himself to be led into the church and up the aisle. The waiting was almost over.  
  
* * * * *   
  
The two people in the blue-painted bedroom were trying very hard to act naturally, but the air was thick with tension. Today was not a normal day. After this everything would be different. And they both knew it.  
  
Pacey smiled down at Joey, trying not to let his feelings show.  
  
"You look amazing, Josephine," he said softly.  
  
She gave him a crooked smile. "Yeah? Well, call me Josephine again and you won't look too hot."  
  
He laughed, feeling his heart turn over in his chest as it always did when she smiled at him, looked at him, even breathed near him.  
  
"I'm still not sure about this dress. Does it show too much?" Joey frowned at her reflection, turning this way and that, tugging at the neckline to cover more of her breasts.  
  
"Jo, you were born to wear that dress," Pacey said, admiring the way the smooth silk clung to her curves and how the simple bodice with its spaghetti straps showed off acres of smooth, golden brown skin. "God, you take my breath away." He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her, lock the door and not let either of them leave the house. But he couldn't. Not today, of all days.  
  
Joey, turning to smile at him, caught the look of pure love in his eyes and knew it was mirrored in her own. She also saw his fear. They had grown so used to how things were, had been comfortable with their lives, but today was going to change things forever. Joey wished she could find the words to tell him how she felt but knew it was unnecessary. Pacey knew exactly what she was feeling. He always did.  
  
Pacey smiled softly and reached out to tuck a stray brown hair behind Joey's ear, not breaking eye contact. "It's those heels you're wearing that I'm most worried about, Potter," he said as he traced his fingers softly across her cheek, sending tingles up his arm and shivers down Joey's spine. "You'll probably trip on your way up the aisle and fall on your face. Or your butt."  
  
She rolled her eyes at him, and the familiar gesture that was so dear to him brought the first genuine smile of the day to his lips, easing the tension a little.  
  
"You have to walk up that aisle too, Witter," she reminded him. "You just make sure you get the bride to her rightful place without incident, and I won't have to hurt you."  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" Pacey said, and saluted her mockingly. I wish I had the words to tell her how much I love her, he thought desperately. I know she knows, but I wish I could tell her how I feel right at this moment.  
  
Joey turned back to the mirror and checked the single lily was secure in her hair. I love you, Pacey, she thought as she watched his reflection, saw the smile fade from his lips as her gaze met his through the glass. And that will never change. You have to believe that.  
  
He moved to stand behind her, put his hands gently on her shoulders, turned her to face him. Then he kissed her. It was a soft kiss, without passion, but with more love than words could ever express. Joey could feel the tears begin to well up behind her closed eyelids at the touch of his lips. They both knew it was a goodbye kiss. After today, this part of their lives was over, gone, never to be recaptured.  
  
"Look at me, Jo."  
  
She forced herself to open her eyes, and he wiped away the stray tear that rolled down her cheek. The sound of a car horn came blasting through the air.  
  
"It's time," he said quietly.  
  
Joey nodded and took the hand he held out to her. "I guess so."  
* * * * *   
  
Dawson watched as Joey made her way up the aisle, her eyes on his. She's breathtaking, he thought, knowing he would never forget the way his childhood friend looked at this moment, feeling his heart fill with love. He heard Jen sigh, and saw Joey catch her eye and give her a wink before returning her gaze to him. As Joey neared the top of the aisle, she smiled suddenly, and the sun emerged from behind a cloud and came streaming through the stained glass windows of the church, filling the room with sunlight and banishing away the shadows. It was the kind of things that would happen in the movies, Dawson thought. The fairytale ending to a love story. Nothing could have been more appropriate.  
* * * * *  
  
Joey winked in Jen's general direction and smiled absently at Dawson as she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Much as she loved him, she couldn't think about him right now. Her new shoes were hurting her feet, her heart was close to breaking, and she had never realised the aisle was this long before. She wondered how people would react if she turned and ran screaming in the other direction. After taking those damn heels off, of course.  
* * * * *   
  
Pacey felt his heart growing heavier with every step. He noticed none of the admiring glances the beautiful brunette on his arm was attracting. His every instinct told him to stop, to pick her up and carry her off in the other direction, away from all this, but he couldn't. This was what she wanted, and he had to see it through. He loved her too much to refuse her.  
  
Finally, they reached the top of the aisle, and she turned to him and kissed him softly on the cheek.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for everything."  
  
Then she turned away, and Pacey knew he had lost her. She had been his for so short a time, too short a time, and now he had to let her go to someone else. He was being replaced, and it was killing him. Although they would still see each other all the time, would still tease each other mercilessly, would still love each other, it wouldn't be the same. Things would be different once she was a wife.  
  
He managed to tear himself away from his tortured thoughts as he realised the ceremony had already begun and the moment of truth was fast approaching. He gazed up at the minister as he faced the congregation and asked, "Who gives this woman to be wed?"  
  
He wanted to whisper the words, but he forced himself to speak loudly and clearly. He owed her that much. "I do."  
  
The minister nodded to him, and he stepped back and took his place in the front pew of the church. It was too late. As he stood there, steeped in his own misery, he felt a hand reach for his, and turned to gaze at the one person in the room who was going through the same thing he was.  
  
"She's gone," he said softly. "We've lost her."  
  
His wife nodded at him. "Now I understand what Bessie meant when she said our wedding was both the happiest and saddest day of her life."  
  
"She's just a kid, Jo. Twenty two and straight out of college into a marriage," he said in a whisper. "How can she be so sure he's the one?"  
  
"I was twenty two and straight out of college the day we stood up there and promised to be together forever," Joey smiled, cheeks still pinking at the memory. "Nobody thought we'd make it, but here we are, twenty five years later-"  
  
"And as much in love as that first summer on True Love," Pacey finished with a smile. "I guess I just can't believe our baby girl grew up so fast. We're supposed to be gaining a son-in-law, but I really do feel like we're losing a daughter. It wasn't so bad when Iris got married, or Ben."  
  
"I know. I guess it's because H was always the baby. Our last chick is leaving the nest." A tear escaped down Joey's cheek. "But we'll always have each other, Pace. You and me, always and forever. I can cope with anything as long as you're beside me."  
  
"I love you, Jo," Pacey said, and he put his arm around her and pulled her close, smiling into her eyes. "You're my life."  
  
"I love you too," Joey sighed, and as she smiled back at her husband, she felt her broken heart mend a little.  
* * * * *   
  
Across the aisle, Dawson and Jen listened proudly to their son as he spoke quietly but confidently to his bride.  
  
"I, Elliot Steven Leery, take thee, Helena Potter Witter, to be my lawful wedded wife."   
  
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I hate the first part of the first line of this story now, and there are way, way too many commas! Generally I feel that some of the sentences are too long and 'woolly' and there are some linking words missing. These are all things I try hard to avoid doing now and it's interesting to me to see just how much I would change this were I rewriting it seriously now. However as I am not willing to spend too much time on that at the moment this is how it's going to stay! 


End file.
